1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an outside mirror apparatus including a lighting device for a vehicle.
2) Description of the Related Art
As an outside mirror apparatus for a vehicle, including a lighting device of this type, there is, for example, a vehicle outside mirror described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-337606 (hereinafter, “related technology”).
The related technology is explained below. Parenthesized reference numerals correspond to components in the related technology, respectively. In the related technology, a base (81) of a lamp unit (8) is inserted from an opening (101) of a cover body (10) to be coupled onto a housing main body (11) by a clip (85). In addition, an irradiating unit (82) of the lamp unit (8) is engaged with the opening (101) of the cover body (10) by a coupling force of the clip (85). In the related technology, when a light emitting diode (LED) (9) of the lamp unit (8) is turned on to emit light, the light from the LED (9) is transmitted through the irradiating unit (82) to be irradiated on a predetermined light distribution zone. Consequently, the lamp unit (8) functions as a blinder, a foot lamp, and the like.
In the related technology, the lamp unit (8) is required to be housed and mounted in a fixed position and in a small and limited space. Moreover, light distribution of the lamp unit (8) is required to be satisfied. Therefore, in the related technology, the irradiating unit (82) of the lamp unit (8) projects from an outer surface of the cover body (10) or a recess (115) is provided in the housing main body (11) around the irradiating unit (82). As a result, the appearance of the outside mirror apparatus is deteriorated.